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Opener Smriti Mandhana played a sumptuous knock after off-spinner Sneh Rana bagged three wickets to help India women complete a convincing nine-wicket win over England in the second T20I on September 13 (Tuesday). Chasing a target of 143 runs, Mandhana's (79 not out off 53 balls) stylish innings ensured India chased down the target with 20 balls to spare.
England's decision to bat first on Tuesday night backfired as Indian bowlers raised their performance by a notch to reduce the hosts to 54 for five inside 10 overs.
England found the going tough in the initial overs, losing wickets at regular intervals before teenager Freya Kemp (51 not out off 37 balls) and Maia Bouchier (34 off 26) shared 65 runs for the sixth wicket to resurrect their innings.
But once Rana broke the dangerous-looking partnership, taking the wicket of Bouchier stumped by Richa Ghosh in the 18th over, the writing was on the wall for England.
Kemp, though, tried hard her level best and used her long handle to great effect to pick up 23 runs in the remaining 15 balls in the company of Sophie Ecclestone to take England to 142 for six and give their bowlers at least something to defend.
During England's innings, Radha Yadav took a stunning catch running in from the long-on fence to dismiss Bryony Smith.
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After the match, skipper Harmanpreet Singh said, "I’m really happy, we played well. Everyone was looking forward to winning today, that’s something I’m happy about. We do have plans for all batters, but it was important that we executed them, the fielders supported the bowlers well."
"We are improving as a fielding side, the way Radha fielded, she got injured in the last game, I’m happy with her effort today. Whenever we bat together (herself and Smriti), we have the confidence, we can calculate the approach well, the right-left combination is always a positive for us," she added.
England had won the first match by nine wickets. The third T20 of the three-match series will be played in Bristol on September 15.
(With PTI Inputs)
